None.
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates to an adapter for use with a hydraulic floor jack, and more particularly, to a removable adapter configured to permit a hydraulic floor jack to be utilized for raising an automotive vehicle body by cradling both the underside of an off-center differential housing and associated unequal length axle, as it typically found on four wheel drive automotive vehicles.
Lifting of automotive vehicles from a solid floor surface utilizing a mobile hydraulic floor jack is a common practice in garages, automotive service stations, or on a road side to facilitate vehicle inspection, tire removal, or vehicle repair. Typically, lift points are located on the underside of a vehicle body adjacent each side of the vehicle, to allow for placement of the hydraulic floor jack, thereby allowing one side of a vehicle to be lifted. Alternatively, either the front or the rear of the vehicle may be lifted by positioning the hydraulic floor jack under a contact point located along the vehicle centerline. One such centerline contact point commonly utilized in lifting an end of a vehicle is the differential housing or ring gear housing, commonly referred to as the xe2x80x9cpumpkinxe2x80x9d. However, on some types of vehicle, such as four-wheel drive vehicles, the differential housing is not located on the vehicle centerline, but rather, is offset to one side to provide clearance for a driveshaft or other vehicle component. Lifting a vehicle from an off-center differential housing can lead to a risk of the vehicle tilting or falling off of the hydraulic floor jack, as the vehicle""s center of gravity is not positioned over the hydraulic floor jack. The customary practice to lift an end of a vehicle having an off-center differential housing by first lifting one side of the vehicle, placing a fixed jack stand thereunder, and then lifting the opposite side of the vehicle and placing a second fixed jack stand thereunder. This process of lifting, supporting, lifting and supporting is time consuming and tedious, requiring several steps and multiple pieces of equipment, as well as risking accidental displacement of the vehicle if it shifts off of the first fixed jack stand while being lifted from the opposite side for placement of the second fixed jack stand. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an adapter suitable for use with a standard commercially available mobile hydraulic floor jack, to facilitate lifting of an end of a motor vehicle having an off-center differential housing from a central lifting point, thereby eliminating the need to provide a pair of fixed vehicle supports.
Among the several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
The provision of an adapter for use with a mobile hydraulic floor jack to facilitate centerline lifting of an automotive vehicle having an off-center differential housing;
The provision of the aforementioned adapter wherein the adapter is removable from the mobile hydraulic floor jack;
The provision of the aforementioned adapter wherein the adapter is configured to cradle a portion of an off-center differential housing and a portion of an unequal length axle;
Briefly stated, the present invention is directed towards a removable adapter for use with a mobile hydraulic floor jack commonly found in a garages or automotive repair shops, to facilitate the balanced lifting of an end of an automotive vehicle having an off-center differential housing. The removable adapter comprises a base configured to seat on the saddle of the mobile hydraulic floor jack, a transverse support member secured at the midpoint to the base, and a pair of contact portions at opposite ends of the transverse support member. The first contact portion is configured to cradle a portion of an off-center vehicle differential housing, and the second contact portion is configured to receive a portion of a vehicle axle shaft extending from the vehicle differential housing, on the opposite side of the vehicle centerline.
During use, the removable adapter of the present invention is placed on the saddle of the hydraulic floor jack, which in turn, is positioned adjacent the underside of the automotive vehicle to be lifted. The precise orientation of the hydraulic floor jack is not critical, provided that the first contact portion of the removable adapter is located beneath the off-center differential housing of the vehicle, and the second contact portion of the removable adapter is located adjacent a portion of the vehicle axle extending from the differential housing, on the opposite side of the vehicle""s lateral center of gravity. Actuation of the hydraulic floor jack by conventional means, such as a lever arm lifts the removable adapter into engagement with the differential housing and simultaneously, with the vehicle axle. Continued actuation of the hydraulic floor jack results in a balanced lifting of the automotive vehicle from the two contact points, which are equally spaced on opposite sides of the vehicle centerline.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention as well as presently preferred embodiments thereof will become more apparent from the reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings.